Punjabification

I was once watching a Hindi movie in a theatre in Faridabad (Haryana) and there were colloquial Haryanvi dialogues which left the audience roaring with laughter. Unfortunately, I could not fathom the joke and looked at my husband for help. He translated it for me and then I could react to it.

Of late, there have been several Hindi movies with stories revolving around Haryana or Punjab. To make the content realistic, rustic dialogues are being delivered and if you are not familiar with such language then you may have to find someone to be an interpreter. Another prominent dominance of the Punjabi language is in the Hindi movie songs. If you search for latest Bollywood songs on the internet majority of these would be in the Punjabi language.

There is no harm in having such songs in Hindi films, as music is not restricted to any language. Its beauty can be explored even if you do not understand the lyrics but why only Punjabi? Why can’t we have songs from other Indian states? Since many years, Punjabi food and songs have been well known in most parts of the globe. This is quite a wonderful feat but the downside is that the outside world identifies India only with butter chicken and Bhangra. Now, even in India, the dominance of a Punjabi identity has created a diaspora among people from other regions of India. All the successful singers are delivering Punjabi songs and there is no empathy to cater to the non-Punjabi population.

Punjabi songs have so well intersected in Hindi films that it is not identified as a different language from Hindi anymore. Majority of these songs become top chartbusters in India and so it definitely makes sense for people in the music business to leverage the opportunity and churn out song after song.

The confluence of Punjabi folk music with that of western music took birth in the 1980s in the UK. This became the most appropriate piece of art for youngsters of Indian origin in the UK and also in the USA. These youngsters could identify themselves with such music to prove that songs of Punjabi origin are in complete sync with the trendy western music. After four decades of wide popularity across continents, Punjabi songs have got strongly engraved into Hindi films (Bollywood).

The Punjabi music maestros need to be applauded for creating a strong footprint at both national and an international level.

For Hindi films, Punjabi songs have become a one-stop solution for a romantic number, a foot tapping number, a slow number, a sad number, a wedding number and what not.

Musicians of regional languages from other Indian states have mainly remained as stand-alone artists in their own states. There have not been many efforts to bring awareness of such songs and music on a national or an international level. These states have beautiful folk music but these all are gradually dying away. There are not enough funds available with artists to market their music or showcase their performance on a larger platform. Sadly, many of such beautiful and soulful music forms remain hidden and unexposed.

With the growing popularity of the songs from Punjab, these highly famous stars need to act as ambassadors of change and provide a platform to other equally talented artists from other Indian states to perform along with them on the same platform. If the audience loves their performances, then there could be another Punjab in the making.